discuss: TLDP Tech
Subject:
Re: TLDP Tech
From:
Martin Wheeler ####@####.####
Date:
6 Mar 2005 11:33:03 -0000
Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.4.61.0503061050340.30076@chaucer.startext.demon.co.uk>
On Sat, 5 Mar 2005, Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Emma Jane Hogbin ####@####.####
>
>> So I would advocate going with PHP....but that's just me.
...
> I use PHP myself --
...
> What I'm mostly suggesting is that, although the language certainly does
> support good, cautious coding, it also supports and (arguably) has for a
> long time encouraged the opposite. And fixing badly coded PHP so that
> it doesn't use security-risky shortcuts is much more difficult than
> cranking it out was in the first place.
Hear, hear.
I agree with all the above.
However, I've been debating with myself since this discussion began
whether or not to relate my own experiences; and now Rick has expressed in
a most eloquent way many of my own sentiments and misgivings.
May I add then that the ONLY time one of my servers was cracked was via a
PHP-based bulletin-board (the ubiquitous phpBB); and that the ONLY wikis I
have had to remove from my servers are those based on PHP (PhpWiki and
derivatives). This is because link-spammers now use automated software
to seek out and deface PHP-based wikis with pills, porn and gambling
links; to the point where such wikis are unsuitable for open public-access
editing. (Wikipedia, although using a different engine, has suffered
greatly from this.)
So perhaps we should be thinking about running user-editable packages with
only a very small number of publicly editable pages; and a relatively
large number of closed pages (i.e. editable by account registration only).
Just a thought -- based on unfortunate personal experience.
[And whilst we're on the subject -- my all-time favourite wiki for
personal note-taking, document construction, etc. has to be Instiki --
simple; clean and very easy to use. It just doesn't compare with
heavyweights like TWiki and Zope's ZWiki, which can get *very* turgid in a
relatively short time.]
Cheers,
--
Martin Wheeler - StarTEXT / AVALONIX - Glastonbury - BA6 9PH - England
####@####.#### http://startext.demon.co.uk/
http://startext.demon.co.uk:2500/instiki/
http://startext.demon.co.uk:9673/zwiki1/
http://startext.demon.co.uk:2500/twiki/
